INTRODUCTORY 5 



few who possess motor cars the distances are trifling, but 

 the vast majority of people must exercise considerable 

 ingenuity, and possess a good bump of locality, if they 

 wish to visit all London's open spaces. A knowledge 

 of the distant places, the names of which are inscribed 

 in large letters on every omnibus, is necessary. The 

 Royal Oak, Elephant and Castle, or Angel, are but 

 starting-places for the more distant routes, although 

 they form the goal of green, red, or blue 'busses. The 

 electric trams of South London have made the approach 

 to Dulwich, Peckham, Greenwich, and many other parks 

 much more simple, and motor 'busses rattle along close to 

 even the distant Golder's Hill or Highbury Fields. With 

 a railway time-table, a good eye for colour in selecting 

 the right omnibus, and a knowledge of the points of the 

 compass, every green patch in London can be reached 

 with ease, even by those whose purses are not long 

 enough to let them indulge in motors, or whose nerves 

 are not steady enough to let them venture on bicycles. 



Each park forms the central point of some large 

 district, and they are not dependent on the casual visitor 

 for appreciation. Every single green spot, on a fine 

 Saturday throughout the year, is peopled with a crowd 

 from the neighbourhood, and on every day in the year, 

 winter as well as summer, almost every open space has 

 a ceaseless throng of comers and goers. 



What is the cost of maintenance of these parks is a 

 question that will naturally occur ; and the answer in 

 many cases is easy to find, as the statistics of both the 

 London County Council Parks, published in their hand- 

 book, and those of the Royal Parks, which are submitted 

 to Parliament every year, are accessible. The following 

 extracts may, however, be useful. In looking at the 



